The High Court reduced the remuneration claimed by Mouldpro International Ltd.’s liquidator for the final period of the winding-up and fixed his overall fees for the work considered in the application.
In a judgment delivered on 9 October 2012, Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan ruled on one issue arising from the liquidator’s application for final orders: the amount of his remuneration. The notice party, Plastronix Investments Ltd., objected to aspects of the fees. The court did not revisit earlier payments on account as final determinations.
The liquidator sought total remuneration and expenses of €1,502,695.41 net, plus VAT, across four periods and post-costs. The judge accepted that the liquidation involved complex work, including continued trading after his appointment and examination of a potential claim against Sony. She found the fees claimed for the first three periods generally reasonable, subject to adjustments for hourly rates applied to staff who had been promoted.
For the period from 1 April 2009 to 30 September 2011, the liquidator claimed €195,213 in remuneration, excluding outlay and VAT. The court found this exceeded a reasonable amount. It cited the prolonged consideration of the Sony claim, which the liquidator had said he would pursue only if Mr Nangle funded it, and delay in advertising for unsecured creditors. The judge also found that confusion over preferential pension claims by scheme administrator Willis contributed to unnecessary work, for which the liquidator had to accept partial responsibility.
The court reduced the fourth-period remuneration by 20%, or €39,043, to €156,170, then added €868 for outlay. It separately deducted €17,520 to account for charge-out-rate increases after two staff members’ promotions. The total allowed for that period was therefore €139,518 plus VAT.
The judgment said this adjustment was not criticism of the employees’ work or abilities. It concerned whether the firm’s higher rates after promotion were objectively justified when calculating the liquidator’s reasonable remuneration.
The court ordered that the liquidator’s remuneration as provisional and official liquidator be determined according to the table in paragraph 4 of the judgment, except that the amount for the final period was €139,518 plus VAT. The ruling addressed remuneration only; it did not determine the underlying Sony claim.